4 Wheels 4 Girls

On July 7th, after we left our campground in Wasilla, we went to go do some laundry and get lunch. Luckily, we found a great laundromat with a Subway next to it and a library across the street, AND there was a bonus….. There was a fair right at the end of the road that we could watch. It was pretty sweet for just a boring old laundry day.

We got subs, and then after we finished them, I asked if I could take my sisters over to the library. They said yes, so we went over and plopped down on the comfy cushions and started to read.

Relaxed and cozy in a library

I was so wrapped up in my book that I didn’t even notice when Dad came in and started taking pictures of us reading. Then, unfortunately, he said it was time to go, so we gathered our laundry and continued our drive! 😀

On June 5th, we went on an 11-hour bus ride in Denali National Park. You’re probably thinking, 11 HOURS!? DANG!!! But it was actually pretty fun. The idea didn’t sound so hot when I first heard about it, but then I realized that it was going to be a lot of fun with great scenery.

Our bus in Denali National Park

Stella and I slid in to a seat together, and then we were off! We saw some great animals and views, and we stopped at a really cool visitor center. It had lots of interesting displays, and outside there were a pair of locked moose antlers. They had been fighting for a girl moose, and while they were fighting their antlers got locked. One moose poked the eye out of the other moose, and since they were stuck, they died together with their antlers bound. It was really cool.

Ana is struggling with half a moose antler. Imagine carrying both of them around wherever you go.

After driving for about an hour, someone shouted, “Look! It’s Mount McKinley!” and there it was, peeping out of the clouds! It was SO tall and SO huge, and it was covered with snow, even though it’s July. It was so beautiful and I tried to take a picture, but my camera died before I could take the picture. Oh well; Dad and Jean took some pretty good pictures.

Our final destination was Wonder Lake, where we could get great mountain views. It was really pretty. Then we turned around for the other half of our ride. We read books, wrote in our books and journals, and chatted. In what seemed like no time, we were back at the visitor center.

It was really cool to see Mount McKinley!!! The bus trip was great; we saw the mountain a few more times on the trip as well. I’m really glad we did it! It was a wonderful experience!

After the awesome parade where we collected loads of candy, we all walked down into the park to go to a giant picnic. We laid down a blanket and then went through the line to get some lunch. People from all over the town brought the food, so there was tons of it and a very large selection.

With our favorite friends in Alaska!

We piled our plates high with all kinds of yummy food and then went back to our picnic blanket. Then Dad asked if we had seen the pig, and I’m like, “What pig?” He told me there was a whole roasted pig on a table near the food line, so I threw on my shoes and raced over to the table. Sure enough, there was a WHOLE pig that was sliced open and you could see the ribs and the head and everything!!! It was super cool and super gross. There were men pulling meat out of it, and while I wanted to look at that crazy pig more, Stella was really grossed out by it and she wouldn’t go anywhere near it. I think she was even a little afraid of it. 😛 So anyway, we ate tons of food and desserts, and then sadly, it was time for us to leave our friends and move on down the road. After we said goodbye, it hit me that I hadn’t even tried the pig. Well, oh well. Too late now.

I’m so glad we went to the picnic. We all had a great time!!!

On July 3rd, after leaving our campground in Fairbanks, we went to visit one of Jean’s childhood friends, Susan. We arrived on her farm, and she greeted us and introduced us to her youngest daughter, Elsa, and to the horses. Then she showed us her garden and then we met her husband, Eric.

Getting around on the farm

After picking something to have for dinner, some chard, then we went inside the house to make dinner. They showed us around, and then we started to make dinner, which was chard, rice, moose meat, salmon, and a caesar salad. All of it was absolutely delicious.

Then, after dinner, the adults sat and visited, and Ellie, Elsa, Stella, And I played Clue. Ellie only played for a little bit, ’cause Eric brought out the horses for Ellie and Ana to ride. When we finished our game, (I won, by the way) Stella went out to ride the horses too.

Then we played Guess Who and had dessert, strawberry cheesecake. By then it was getting pretty late, so we went out to the camper and went to bed. We slept in their driveway.

It was so nice to meet some new friends, and it was a great day! 😉

On July 1st at the Sourdough Campground, I finally got up the nerve to do karaoke with Stella.

They did the pancake toss, as usual, and I got SOOOO close to getting my pancake in the bucket, so I decided to go for the third try and sing a song when the performers came on to the stage. Unfortunately I didn’t throw the pancake in even on the third try, and I still had to sing. *stomps feet in aggravation*.

Then, after the toss was over, the campground’s singers, Danny Lee and Sue Jean, came up on the stage and started to perform. Oh great, I thought to myself. I knew I’d have to sing soon, so Stella and I looked through the songbook for songs that I knew and that I could actually sing well. They were mostly oldies and hardly any that I knew, so we just decided to sing a Taylor Swift song, Love Story. Her songs, in my opinion, are fun to sing, so I didn’t think it would be thAt bad. But as Sue Jean called us up to the stage, I was still a little freaked. Okay, fine, A LOT freaked. There were a lot of people, you know! So anyway we got up there, took the microphones, started to sing… and it was fun! No one laughed at us or judged us; they really appreciated the entertainment!

Karaoke Night at the campground

After that we sang three more Taylor Swift songs, and we had a great time! I’m super glad had I got over my fear and made the plunge. I’m a lot more adventurous now! 😀

On June 29th, we entered The States again- and we also entered Alaska! The first real town we entered was called Chicken. Funny name, huh?!

An old gold mining dredge in Chicken, Alaska

The town of Chicken basically consists of two campgrounds, a parking lot, a few shops, a cafe, and a post office, but it’s super cool. There’s a giant chicken sculpture at one of the campgrounds. It’s a really neat place. We went in a shop and browsed for a bit. We ended up getting an Alaska license plate for the front of the RV and a few other things. We took a lot of pictures.

Chicken!

Chicken was a really awesome town to visit! I’m glad we did! 😉

On June 27th, the day Stella got her ears pierced, we walked around in Dawson City. We went in lots of cool shops while Dad and Jean worked in the RV.

We looked around in a few stores, and then Stella and I read a magazine and Ellie and Ana read books. It was nice and relaxing.

We sat in that store for about an hour, and then we went to look at a really cool 100-year-old building that was falling apart. One wall was made from old, flattened out steel barrels. There was a sign next to it that said, “Please don’t laugh at me!” It was cool.

This wall was made with old barrels

We didn’t buy anything, but it was still a fun day shopping in Dawson City! 😛

June 26th, we walked around in Dawson City. On our way to lunch after the museum, Dad said he wanted to show us something really cool. We were walking down the sidewalk when suddenly we stopped in front of an old church that was tilted every which way!

St. Andrews church, built in 1901

Then, right after lunch at Sourdough Joe’s, (which, by the way, was delicious!) Dad showed us two more buildings that were tilted against each other! They were also super cool. 🙂

Those are some leaning buildings!

I really enjoyed our day in the city!!!

June 22nd, we finally entered the Yukon territory!

It was quite exciting. The sign was big and blue, and it welcomed us into the beautiful Yukon and the Alaska Highway.

My dad has always wanted to go to the Yukon, and he's finally here!!! 😀

We drove for about an hour before we reached our campground, Continental Divide Lodge and RV Park. (By the way, we crossed the continental divide twice on our way to our campground. But not the Atlantic/Pacific divide; the Pacific/Arctic divide!) It’s really nice, with nice showers, a playground, nice owners, good wifi, and good play space. Although there ARE a ton of mosquitoes *sticks tongue and swats millions of obnoxious bugs*. Otherwise we like it a lot! We’re going to stay here for two nights. 🙂

June 21st was the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. But up in Canada where we are traveling, everyday is 24 hours long these days. It never gets dark. You can wake up at night at any time- three in the morning, midnight- and it really just isn’t dark. If I woke up in the middle of the night and I couldn’t go back to sleep, I could pick up my book and read without any trouble seeing. It’s quite annoying when you acually want to sleep. *rolls sleepy eyes.*

Photo taken at 2:AM. It doesn't get dark at all up here.